Chapter 1296 Sudden Fall and Sudden Rise
Katherine Devner moved very quickly.
After confirming Ning Weimin's whereabouts through a phone call with Alain Delon, she immediately initiated contacts to inquire about the details of Ning Weimin's transactions with two French studios.
After it was truly confirmed that Ning Weimin indeed had huge funds in his hands, Catherine Deneuve quickly booked a flight ticket, packed her luggage, and flew to Paris to find Ning Weimin, planning to meet Ning Weimin. of interviews.
Paris is the capital of France and the hometown of Catherine Devner.
Her relationships here are unparalleled anywhere.
Especially because he also knew that Ning Weimin was summoned by Picardon.
So it was too easy for her to find out Ning Weimin's whereabouts and residence.
However, after Ning Weimin came to Paris, he almost stayed with Pierre Cardin for several days in a row, either at the company headquarters or visiting Pierre Cardin stores.
I don’t even have time to go shopping with my newlywed wife. The two of them seem to just go for a walk along the Seine River and the Champs Elysées every day,
It can be said that her life is all about the company - store - Maxim's restaurant - staying in the hotel. These few points of life are connected together, which makes it always inconvenient for her to appear in front of Ning Weimin like this, or use... Call him to meet.
After all, Catherine knew her own affairs well. She was thinking about the money in Ning Weimin's hands.
Since you plan to let Ning Weimin spend money to invest in Saint Laurent, help save your investment.
So whether it is facing Pier Cardon or Ning Weimin's wife, it will inevitably arouse people's thoughts and make them mind.
This is not very embarrassing after all.
So she waited patiently until the third day when the private detective who helped track her told her that Ning Weimin had taken his wife and Pierre Carton to CLSA.
This made her suddenly realize that the funds she longed for were likely to be invested in the Paris Stock Exchange by Ning Weimin.
So she could no longer care about anything else. In order to get financial assistance, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and decided to visit immediately.
It was almost eight o'clock in the evening when Catherine Devner decided to leave.
She is different from Henri Lacamière or Pierre Cardin. She lives in a medium-sized manor on the outskirts of Paris all year round. It probably takes an hour to get to the city center.
So there is no excuse to have dinner together.
She made a phone call first. Regardless of the surprise of Ning Weimin on the other side of the phone, she told him that she was going to the hotel to see him. She said she had something important to discuss and hoped to meet him in the lobby lounge of the hotel.
Then he hung up the phone and drove onto the road leading to central Paris.
Following the principle of wealth hierarchy, although the area of Catherine's manor is not small, its location is definitely not comparable to that of real "old money".
Although her villa is also in the western suburbs, it is on the edge of the north. Not only is it close to Charles de Gaulle Airport, but it is also bothered by some aircraft noise on weekdays. Even on the way into the city, you can also feel the presence of civilians. .
Just like in Southey Provincial Park, because today is a weekend night, some homeless men and women are gathering together, waiting to enjoy the free dinner distributed by the welfare agency.
In Paris, almost every weekend, social volunteers from social welfare organizations will bring food to parks with fresh air and place it on wooden tables and chairs for the vulnerable groups in society to enjoy. .
Such a scenery is certainly not pleasing to the eye.
It can even be painful to go from one originally romantic world to another cruel one.
But Catherine was not disgusted by the sight of ragged people.
Not because she has a tolerant and kind heart for a moment, but because it reminds her that a good life is hard to come by, and it is even harder to retain a happy life.
This scene usually makes people realize that even in France, even in Paris, there are still quite a few people living in another world.
These people don’t have luxury cars and yachts, swimming pools and ranches.
They can't shop in the famous stores on the Champs Elysées, and even Auchan supermarkets are too expensive. They can only buy daily necessities at cheap places like Carrefour or Germany's Lidl.
When she was young, Catherine and her sister also volunteered for them, but since her sister's death, she has never done so again.
Until now, it's been a matter of writing a check to the agency that provides the food.
In her heart, people who are alive like this are actually better off dead.
But then again, even if these people are poor and hopeless, at least there are people like her to help them.
However, once she falls into financial trouble, who is willing to help her?
God knows, who is in a more pitiable and dangerous situation, her or these people...
Catherine Deneuve finally put poverty behind her and stopped her car at a traffic light.
From here she will truly enter the urban area.
However, when thinking about the person she was about to meet, Catherine felt a little flustered for no reason.
Although that man is young, he is very independent.
His handsome and gentle appearance actually hides a firm heart, which is very inconsistent with his age.
Especially now that he still has such a huge wealth inexplicably, it is simply too confusing to figure out.
In fact, Catherine had felt his mystery and difference as early as the Republic.
At that time, she was just surprised that such a closed country could produce such an interesting and knowledgeable person.
I am very lucky that my life in the Republic is taken care of by someone who understands Western culture.
It was not until she returned to France that Catherine truly realized that she had been unknowingly influenced by him.
I began to like oriental art, and I also liked to use Chinese porcelain to entertain guests. I also wanted to eat Chinese food occasionally, and sometimes I even thought of him unconsciously.
Catherine, who is over forty and has experienced too many men, thinks that the relationship between men and women has completely disappeared for her, and she really doesn’t know how to explain all this reasonably.
She was sure that she was not infatuated with this young man, but she felt that he had a strong charm that attracted her deeply.
It was as if this young man was the elf guarding King Solomon, holding the keys to all the treasure houses, and could always show her rare treasures in the world, which made her want to find out.
But then again, this kind of inability to see through is not a good thing at the moment.
Because she really wasn't sure how to really convince him, and she didn't know how to do it.
It is shameful to even think that I have reached the point where I have to ask this young man for help.
She has been acting all her life and is known as the first lady of the European film industry.
The actress who had countless advertising endorsements, invested in Saint Laurent, and led the fashion trend in the 1960s and 1970s, actually did not earn as much as this young man in half her life.
I really don’t know why God arranged it this way. It’s so annoying.
Forget it, it doesn't matter, it's all for Yves.
Even if it fails in the end, I have to let Yves know that I have tried my best...
It was with such chaotic thoughts that Catherine Deneuve came to George V The lobby lounge of the World Hotel.
Her heart was even more uneasy and uneasy than when Pierre Cardon spoke to Ning Weimin a few days ago.
After all, in terms of friendship with Ning Weimin, she could not be compared with the master, not to mention that what she asked for was hundreds of millions of francs.
It can be said that she ran this trip purely with the mentality of being a living horse doctor.
It was the huge expenses of maintaining the manor, the bills and event invitations that flew into the mailbox every day like snowflakes, and the condition of Yves Saint Laurent, whose body and mind were getting worse and worse, that forced her to do it. This kind of begging in disguise.
Based on her own expectations, the success rate was less than 30%.
Of course, if she were younger, or if Ning Weimin didn't have his newlywed wife by his side, the probability might be higher. After all, there is a rule in the film industry that everyone understands and needs to respect. No matter how short-lived the relationship between the sexes is, there should be material rewards.
However, when she walked into the door of the lobby lounge and saw Ning Weimin and his wife sitting together, she knew that this possibility did not exist at all.
Otherwise, as long as Ning Weimin has some interest in her, he should be sitting here alone.
This situation made Catherine Deneuve feel even more awkward.
Although she also knew that she could not really have anything happen with this man who was more than ten years younger than herself.
But after all, she is a harvester of famous directors, and she is also the muse of Saint Laurent. She does not allow any man to really turn a blind eye to her and be completely immune.
However, what made her a little relieved was that Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko almost waved to her together.
And she also noticed the expressions on their faces. They were not pretending to be insincere or just trying to take advantage of the situation.
"I'm so sorry to disturb you at this time." Catherine sat down next to Matsumoto Keiko. She successfully restrained her nervousness with her acting skills.
But the mental anxiety of a few days made her look unhappy. She came here in a hurry, and her thoughts, words and deeds were also a little confused. In the end, the secret of the trouble she was facing was exposed.
"You're welcome, we're glad to see you. Would you like something to drink?"
"I want a glass of wine, Campari."
"Are you sure? You didn't drive here by yourself, did you?"
"Oh, by the way, I drove. Damn it. Then I'll take Perrier."
"Okay, what trouble are you in? We'll all listen carefully if you have anything to say." br>Catherine tried her best not to distort her face, but her voice was still a little trembling, "How did you know I was in trouble? Did Alan call you? What did he say to you?"
"Alan? Do you mean Mr. Alain Delon?" Ning Weimin said, "No, I'm afraid you misunderstood. In fact, we haven't contacted him again since we left Cannes. I just saw that something was wrong with you. Ah. Otherwise why are you so anxious to see us?"
Katherine finally regained her composure.
She is not a stupid woman. After Ning Weimin emphasized the word "we" in his tone, she instantly understood what he meant.
So she took the initiative to touch Matsumoto Keiko's hand, as if she had made a request to see the two of them together from the beginning.
"I'm really sorry for inviting you here. But because the things we want to talk about are very important, I still hope you can be here."
Next, Catherine told her request in a serious and emotional manner.
To put it briefly, Saint Laurent, the company she invested in, has actually been working hard to go public, with the biggest goal of becoming the first French fashion company to go public.
However, because the founder Yves was deeply troubled by depression and exhausted physically and mentally, it seemed that his inspiration had dried up in recent years. There were basically no new works coming out, which led to a great loss of shareholder confidence. Many people have already wanted to withdraw their capital. .
At present, even Yves Saint Laurent's operations have encountered bottlenecks, relying entirely on the support of general manager Pierre Bergé.
According to the general manager, there is an urgent need for a successful autumn clothing show to draw everyone's attention to the Yves Saint Laurent brand again.
At the same time, a certain amount of funds are also needed to develop the garment business in depth so that the financial data can meet the requirements for listing as soon as possible.
But all this requires money, at least 200 million francs, and preferably 500 million francs.
So Catherine’s purpose is very simple, that is, she doesn’t know if Ning Weimin still has extra funds in his hand, and is he willing to become a shareholder of Saint Laurent?
However, in the way of telling it, Catherine also used scheming and added materials.
She not only described Yves Saint Laurent as a rare genius designer, but more importantly, she was playing the emotional card, trying her best to beautify her friendship with Yves and the motivation for her trip.
She said that almost all her costumes in the 1960s and 1970s were provided by Saint Laurent.
The two are not lovers, but their feelings for each other are much deeper than lovers, just like Hepburn and Givenchy.
It seems that she came here purely to help her friends. It seems that her personal gains and losses are far less important than this matter.
After finishing speaking, Catherine looked at Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko eagerly, carefully observing their expressions.
But the sign was obviously not ideal, because after hearing what she said, the two people on the other side looked at each other with expressions of regret and embarrassment.
Sure enough, I heard Matsumoto Keiko say, "I'm sorry, you're late. To tell you the truth, we have basically used up all the money in our overseas accounts today and invested it all in the accounts of securities companies. If you had come a day earlier, That's good."
At this point, she took the initiative to look at Ning Weimin, as if she needed him to confirm again.
Ning Weimin was also really rude, "Well, there is no other way. The money has been contracted with CLSA and reached an agreement with Mr. Pierre Cardin. Withdraw now, even part of it. , and it’s hard to explain. And there will be losses. So you need funds now, and I really don’t have them. It’s not that I don’t help, but I can’t help you.”
This sad news almost made Catherine shed tears. She came out for no other reason than that it was too difficult for her.
Hurry up, hurry up, it’s still a step too late.
Originally, she was still questioning whether Ning Weimin still had the money.
Okay now, I’m sure they have it, but they just invested it in the stock market.
"Don't you still have cooperation with Alan? I heard that you still want to do business with him? Could it be that the money..." Catherine was forced to make a last-ditch effort, and she even had to " "A dead Taoist friend is not as good as a poor Taoist", and he would not hesitate to betray his friends.
However, Ning Weimin said, "No, that's not good. You can't change what you have promised. You have to keep your word. Besides, he is our mutual friend, so just pretend I didn't hear what he said."
A huge disappointment occupied Catherine Deneuve's entire heart.
Since she didn't know the price that could be exchanged for benefits, she had never felt so powerless.
Now not only does she have no energy to think anymore, she is also unwilling to say another word.
She didn't even care whether the unexpected look Matsumoto Keiko projected represented contempt or disdain
But things in the world were still so strange, just when she thought it was no longer the case. When there was no turning point, the matter happened to change again, and it was far better than she expected.
"I see you are really anxious. Is this good? If you can accept installment payment, maybe I can help you find a way?"
"Ah? What did you say? Installment payment?"
"Yes, you said that Yves Saint Laurent needs funds, and they should be invested in specific operations, right? Then who would do such a thing as a one-time transaction? If you pay the full amount, it should be okay if I raise the money for you in installments, for example, 50 million francs in the first month, then 100 million francs in the second month, and 200 million francs in the next month, for four months. Yes, it’s okay for me to offer you 500 million francs. Is this okay?”
“Oh my god, you have 500 million francs? That’s great! You are a magician!” "Instalments!"
Catherine Deneuve exclaimed as her mood plummeted and she finally rounded a crucial corner.
This is when I realized that although I was anxious for money, I didn’t have to get it all in a short time.
Then he couldn't help but hug Matsumoto Keiko beside him and laughed happily.
Matsumoto Keiko was startled, but soon became infected and was equally happy for her.
Ning Weimin smiled at her and said, "It seems you can accept this condition. That's great. However, I still have some conditions that need to be discussed clearly with the person in charge of Saint Laurent in person. It needs to be implemented in legal documents, such as shareholding and considerable rights. You understand this, right?”
“I understand.” Catherine nodded hurriedly, “I will let them prepare the finances. Documents and legal documents, you will not be disappointed with Saint Laurent. As long as Saint Laurent survives this, I will repay you well, no matter what you want..."
Who knows Ning Weimin? However, her words refreshed her understanding of friendship.
"What you said is too harsh. We are friends, right? Friends should help each other. Besides, you just helped us in Cannes. We are not heartless people. Don't worry. As long as you say a word, this funding gap will be solved I’ll help you stop it. It doesn’t matter if Saint Laurent is losing money now.”
Fifty million?
It’s just for the sake of friendship!
Who can believe it!
Katherine suddenly felt dizzy, as if the value of her life had reached another level!
But at the same time, it seemed like she didn't understand men a little bit anymore.